NEWS Center

Dr. Sean Hannah (Colonel, Ret.) from the Thayer Leadership faculty has been named to the top 1% of the most impactful researchers globally based on citations to his research. This distinction comes from an exhaustive study by PLOS Biology, titled “Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators.” The study determined the top researchers in the world across all the sciences (business, humanities, social sciences, biology, engineering, etc.).

The study assessed the current scientific impact (in 2019, the most recent year of the database analyzed in the study) of almost 8 million scholars in all disciplines across the globe. Based on current citations to his research, Professor Hannah was ranked in the top 1% of all scholars across all fields of science in the world. His areas of scholarly expertise are leadership and building high performing teams and organizations. 

"COL Hannah is an incredible leader-scholar with whom we have had the privilege to work with for the last 11 years,” said Karen Kuhla McClone, Ph.D., Executive Director, Thayer Leadership. “We have seen first-hand how his years of practical leadership experience, in combination with his scholarly work, have positively impacted thousands of leaders and couldn’t think of a more deserving person for this recognition. Congratulations, Sean!”

Sean stated that “I am honored by this recognition and humbled by seeing the impact of my research across the scientific community. My passion is in developing leaders, and that starts with ensuring through research that what we teach is tested and evidence-based”  

This distinction comes on the heels of other recent professional recognition. Dr. Hannah was recognized by the Academy of Management (AOM), the international professional body for management scholars, amongst its 19,000-plus members to receive the 2017 Practice Impact Award, recognizing his contributions to the practice of management. In 2018 he was also inducted as a Fellow in the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology as well as a Fellow in the Association for Psychological Science.

Dr. Hannah has been with the Thayer faculty for a decade, following a distinguished 26-year career as a Colonel in the United States Army. He participated in multiple combat and contingency deployments, culminating as a West Point Professor and the Director of the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic. He also holds an endowed chair and professorship at the Wake Forest University School of Business.